The present invention relates to an apparatus and a method for forming bundles composed of printed products. Such an apparatus includes a holding area for successively supplied printed products, a lift provided with at least one lift element which can essentially move vertically up and down inside the holding area, as well as at least one ejection element for conveying the bundles out of the holding area. The printed products can be deposited onto the at least one lift element when it is located in an upper position. The printed products can initially be moved with the at least one lift element downward and into the holding area and can subsequently be compressed into a bundle with the aid of an upward movement that is directed against at least one pressing element of the apparatus. The bundle can be transported inside the holding area with the at least one lift element to a lower position for this lift element. For the depositing of additional printed products, the at least one lift element can then be moved once more from its lower position to its upper position.
An apparatus of this type, which is also called a bundle or layer press, as well as a corresponding method are known from European patent document EP 1593633A1 and are used to form bundles composed of printed products, such as newspapers, magazines or the like. The printed products are supplied, for example, in the form of an overlapping flow and are then stacked inside a stacking device. The stacks are compressed in the aforementioned apparatus and the resulting bundle is ejected so that it can be conveyed to further processing locations. During the compressing, the thickness of the stack is reduced by evacuating the air from the printed products. This is designed to form bundles having the highest possible stability with the stacked printed products, which are then suitable for shipping. The apparatus has a holding area that is open on the top and a therein positioned lift which can essentially move vertically up and down and comprises two so-called lift plates which are used for accommodating and compressing the printed products. The successively supplied printed products are deposited onto the lift plates, located in an upper position, and are initially moved downward with the aid of these plates into the holding area. For the compressing operation, the printed products are then moved upward again with the lift and pressed against two opposite-arranged pressing elements. Following the compressing of the printed products into a bundle, the latter is moved downward with the lift and is finally ejected with an ejection element from the holding area of the apparatus. The lift plates are then once more moved upward so that additional printed products can be deposited thereon. The lift in this case represents a limiting element for the successive forming of bundles because the lift can be moved back up into the starting position only after a bundle is ejected, so as to make it available once more for accommodating additional printed products.
European patent document EP 1826164A1 discloses an apparatus for forming bundles which also lifts up the printed products with the aid of a lift and which compresses the products by moving a pressing element across the products. With this apparatus, the lift is also moved downward for ejecting the finished bundles. However, only after the ejection of the bundle can the lift be moved back up for depositing additional printed products.